“Scientist in the house!” That’s what you’ll hear from a curious 5-year-old named Sid when his grandmother brings him home from preschool each day. You’ll also hear questions. Big questions like “Why are my shoes shrinking?” and “Why do bananas get mushy?” But then that’s what scientists do, and that’s why in many respects children are born scientists.
There is much talk among educators these days about STEM, an acronym for “science, technology, engineering, and math.” The United States has fallen seriously behind on a variety of measures connected with student achievement and interest in these areas, and this gap could pose a threat to our economic competitiveness — and more! — if we don’t do something about it.
By Sybil Berry. --September, 2008 marked the re-launch and re-branding of VITAL, one of Thirteen's premier offerings for teachers.
By Jayson Sargent. --There are a number of new sites on the Internet where viewers can watch television shows for free.
By Robert A. Miller. --When I returned to New York from California 27 years ago, I had published two educational projects in a unique format that I thought would sweep the nation and change the way Black American history and Mexican American history were taught.
By David Reisman. --So, it's almost time for the kids' summer vacation. New York City has the longest school year of anywhere in the country, and there are just a few weeks left. Jenny and William are in class until almost the end of June, and there’s hardly a pause before summer camp starts. It’s a good time for reflection and looking forward, since a lot has happened since September 2007.
By Roman Brygider. -- I'm a Producer/Director for WLIW's National Productions Department. Over the years I've helped to produce WLIW's Health Chronicles Series, the nostalgic history series: New York the Way it Was and episodes in our heritage series which include: The Asian Indian Americans along with other episodes on the Chinese, Mexican, German, Italian, and Jewish American communities.
By David Reisman. --Back in 1988, I had an idea that I thought was revolutionary. What if there was a way of getting any movie (from the silent or sound era), TV show or film clip delivered to your home, school or office, via computers?
By David Reisman. --When I was in graduate school at Teachers College (a few years before the Web), Ernest Rothkopf introduced us to an interesting framework for thinking about the settings where education takes place, in the context of considering when educational technologies should be used -- he divided them up into informal settings like museums or public television stations (the “arcade”); formal educational settings like schools (“contract”); and training programs in the military and businesses (“closed”).
